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January 26, 2023

Russia Fires Cruise Missiles Across Ukraine After Biden Agrees to Send M1 Tanks
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Ukraine's military has retreated from the eastern town of Soledar as
Russian forces attempt to encircle the nearby city of Bakhmut. It's
Russia's largest battlefield victory since last summer. It came as
Ukraine's military chief said Russia fired 55 cruise missiles across
Ukraine overnight, including 15 targeting Kyiv, where one person was
killed and two others wounded.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is calling on its allies to supply it with modern
warplanes, including advanced fighter jets, after the Biden
administration said it will ship 31 U.S.-made M1 Abrams battle tanks to
Ukraine. The escalation came after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed
to send Leopard 2 tanks. President Biden spoke at the White House
Wednesday.

President Joe Biden: "Putin expected Europe and the United States to
weaken our resolve. He expected our support for Ukraine to crumble with
time. He was wrong."
The British-based Stop the War Coalition blasted the move to arm Ukraine
with tanks, tweeting, "This is not the path to peace & marks a serious
escalation. Arming Ukraine & sending tanks is a step further away from
negotiation."

Meanwhile, a Russian court ordered the country's oldest human rights
organization, the Moscow Helsinki Group, to be closed down. It's the
latest in Moscow's crackdown on free speech and dissidents, which has
intensified since the start of its invasion of Ukraine last February.
After headlines, we'll speak with Alexey Kovalov, investigative editor
of Meduza, an independent Russian news outlet.


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